"Keep it for fun? You don't want to eat it? "Ren Xiaosu was puzzled." That'll be such a waste. It's all good meat! "
"You won't understand the world of the rich." Old Wang laughed. "It's said that hundreds of years ago, the rich used to keep eagles for fun. But nowadays, eagles are too big and dangerous, so they settle for the next best thing: keeping sparrows. Look at how ferocious these sparrows look. That's what the rich like."
Ren Xiaosu thought for a while. So it turned out that while most people did not have enough to eat, some people had already started to keep sparrows for fun.
"But if you want to keep them alive, you'll have to pay more." Ren Xiaosu said, "When they're alive, they can scratch someone to death if they're not careful! It's too dangerous! "
Suddenly, Ren Xiaosu wondered if the refugees outside had been contaminated. Could it be that the sparrows had not been contaminated before? Or could it be that the stronghold only needed the refugees to work for them, and this wall naturally divided them into different classes?
"Fortune comes from danger." Old Wang said with a smile, "The fact that you're able to stay up all night means that you're not an ordinary person. As long as you put in a little more effort to catch one alive, you might not have to do anything for the next six months. Besides, haven't you ever thought of saving up some money to get married or something?"
"Marry, my ass!" Ren Xiaosu snapped.
Old Wang pretended to be mysterious. "Old Li's daughter from next door and your younger brother Liuyuan are both studying at school. She's a decent girl …"
"Based on what you're saying, shouldn't I just sell this sparrow to Old Li? Do I still need you to introduce me to her?" Ren Xiaosu turned around and asked Yan Liuyuan, "Is Old Li's daughter your classmate?"
"Yes." Yan Liuyuan nodded. "She's really sturdy."
"Shoo, go play somewhere else." Old Wang snapped, "Just pretend I didn't say anything. You're taking my kindness for granted!"
When Lao Wang saw that Ren Xiaosu and Yan Liuyuan were about to perform a crosstalk, he decisively stopped them. He changed the topic and said, "Remember, if you can catch them alive next time, you must come and find me."
"Alright." Ren Xiaosu nodded. Although it was dangerous to capture them alive, it was not impossible. He looked into the grocery store and asked, "How much is the cotton-padded jacket?"
"The cotton-padded jacket just arrived, 500 for one! You should be clear about the price. The money I received was 490 yuan. I don't want to earn money from the cotton-padded jackets. "Old Wang said," Let's count as one less person freezing to death. "
"You're quite kind-hearted." Ren Xiaosu nonchalantly praised, "Give me one. Let's see how big Liuyuan is."
"Brother, you should buy one too," Yan Liuyuan said hurriedly.
"Children shouldn't interrupt when adults are talking." Ren Xiaosu frowned. "I'm not cold."
Money was a good thing. The consortiums that controlled the various strongholds issued currency to ensure the circulation of supplies. Even though it was convenient, it was difficult to do anything without money.
The winters here were very cold, but money had to be saved for emergencies. There was still more than a month until winter. If they could catch more sparrows, Ren Xiaosu felt it would not be too late to buy a cotton-padded jacket then.
More importantly, it was time for Yan Liuyuan to pay his school fees. He had to pay them once a month.
Ren Xiaosu looked around the grocery store again. His eyes suddenly stopped on the counter behind Old Wang. "How much are the antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs?"
Only then did Old Wang notice that there were bloodstains on the cloth wrapped around Ren Xiaosu's hand. "You're injured? Then you better buy some medicine. Otherwise, you'll die if you get infected! "
"I'm asking you how much it's for!" Ren Xiaosu said impatiently.
"210 yuan per pill." Old Wang said, "Antibiotics have to be taken for three days in a row. I'll sell you three pills for 620 yuan and give you a free dose of iodophor. I only have 10 pills left."
Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and said, "Let's just round it off …"
"If you want to round off the zero after 620, you better shut up," Old Wang snapped.
Ren Xiaosu smacked his lips and reluctantly looked away. "Forget it, I'm not buying it. Usually, it doesn't get inflamed in winter."
He turned around and led Yan Liuyuan to school. When they passed by a grain store, Ren Xiaosu went in and bought a long loaf of black bread. He did not know what was mixed into the black bread, but it cut his throat when he swallowed it.
Yan Liuyuan chewed on the black bread and said, "Bro, why don't you pay for school too? You want to go to school so badly."
"I still have to go hunting." Ren Xiaosu said, "I heard what Old Wang said just now. There are quite a few female students in your school who come from well-to-do families, right? Don't get into a relationship at such a young age."
"I heard that people in the past got married at the age of 13 or 14," Yan Liuyuan retorted. Although he had never thought about these things between a man and a woman, arguing with Ren Xiaosu was actually very fun.
Finding joy in adversity was probably one of the most powerful abilities of humans.
Ren Xiaosu pretended to pat the back of Yan Liuyuan's head. "Can things be the same as before? You're still young. The women you're dating now will be other people's wives in the future …" Speaking up to this point, Ren Xiaosu smacked his lips. "Other people's wives, why does it sound so exciting …"
"Bro, what are you talking about? Why don't I understand?" Yan Liuyuan said as he blinked.
"Get lost, stop playing dumb," Ren Xiaosu said angrily.
…
The school was the cleanest and neatest place in town. It was also the only residence that had its own courtyard.
Walking in from the outside, one could see that the courtyard was planted in a picturesque manner … green onions, garlic sprouts, potatoes, cabbages …
Originally, Ren Xiaosu felt that a place like the school should be planted with some bamboo. But after all, food was hard to come by these days, so it would be a blessing to have a place to grow vegetables.
Therefore, Ren Xiaosu's previous wish was for Yan Liuyuan to become a teacher when he grew up.
It was not because he respected teachers, but because he felt that being a teacher was safe, and he could have his own courtyard to grow some vegetables without anyone stealing them.
This was such a wonderful thing.
Overall, Ren Xiaosu's wishes were generally very "down-to-earth."
Yan Liuyuan brought the school fees with him and went to class. Ren Xiaosu squatted on top of the wall and listened to the students reading inside. As he could not afford the school fees, he could only eavesdrop like this.
Sometimes, the teacher would tell his students how glorious human civilization was in the past. To be honest, the teacher himself had never seen that era before. What he was talking about now were only things that were passed down by word of mouth. As the stories were passed down, they might end up being misinformed.
Although it was not very reliable, Ren Xiaosu was still very fascinated by it.
Sometimes, Ren Xiaosu would ask Yan Liuyuan questions that he did not understand or did not hear clearly. This made Yan Liuyuan very vexed because if he could not answer the questions, it would mean that he was not paying attention. Therefore, whenever Ren Xiaosu sat in, Yan Liuyuan would pay extra attention in class.
He did not know why, but Yan Liuyuan would admit that his brother was indeed quite handsome when he studied seriously. It was no wonder that Sister Xiaoyu would throw herself at him.
In the classroom, the teacher was holding a book. He looked melancholically at some of the students who had fallen asleep. Then, he looked at Ren Xiaosu who was on top of the wall outside the window and said to Yan Liuyuan, "Go back and tell your brother that he can come to the courtyard to listen in the future."
"Alright!" Yan Liuyuan beamed.
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